1) The London A-Z

Phyllis Pearsal came up with the idea for a London street map when she got lost on the way to a party in 1935. We have much to thank Phyllis for, and it must be an underhand compliment that these days, when we get lost on the way to a party, we pocket one of her pocket-sizeds.

2) Lonely Planet Europe

Founded in 1973 by British couple Tony and Maureen Wheeler and named after a misheard line from the Joe Cocker song Tourists, the Lonely Planet has a hallowed status among the backpacking hordes that the first governor of occupied Iraq used Lonely Planet Iraq to draw up a list of sites of historical importance. So it's not just those late for a party in Hoxton who turn to crime, but also those wandering dejectedly around Budapest's backstreets.

3) Lenny McLean: The Guv'nor

Ronnie Kray said of bare-knuckle boxer McLean that he was "the best fighter I have seen". A decade after his death, McLean's memoirs continue to be a hit, particularly among non-paying bibliophiles: fittingly, true crime turns out to attract real crime.

4) Tintin and Asterix

Comic books about boy detectives and magic potions seem an unlikely choice for kleptomaniacs, though we shouldn't neglect to mention that Asterix and Obelix operate, strictly speaking, outside Roman law.

5) JK Rowling: Harry Potter

Rowling's reluctance to grant interviews as well as her donations to the Labour party has meant that the creator of Harry Potter has become an easy target - so it seems pertinent to remember that a considerable percentage of Rowling's income has helped to support charities such as Comic Relief, One Parent Families and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain. Do you bookstealers feel guilty yet?

6) Abbie Hoffman: Steal This Book

This 1970 US counter-cultural classic does what it says on the tin: a training manual containing advice on the way to steal credit cards, grow marijuana and, among other things, obtain a free buffalo from the US Department of the Interior. In a 1971 article in Rolling Stone, Izak Haber claimed that Hoffman had in fact stolen his idea for the book.

7) Spider-man

The tale of bookworm Peter Parker who develops a skill for making objects stick to his hand: the ultimate role-model for apprentice book-lifters.

8) Yolanda Celbridge: The Taming of Trudi

Celbridge's modern S&M classic contains the two-liner: "That poor, poor rattlesnake. What did it ever do to deserve such treatment?" How could you bring yourself to pay for it?

9) Wall and Piece by Banksy

Is it that this glossy coffee-table tome - published not by an obscure art press but a mainstream conglomerate - undermines the street-cred of Britain's most notorious graffiti artist? It does feel like an inconsistency is being corrected by its appearance on this list.

10) Moleskin Diaries

Every self-respecting thief needs a swanky diary to plan their hectic shoplifting schedule.

• Source: Simon Key and Tim West of The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, London